


Digitatum Patch

by reteryisk



Category: Original Work
Genre: Body Horror, Gen, Language, Mild Gore, Mild Sexual Content, Post-Apocalypse, Violence, references everywhere
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-08
Updated: 2019-03-30
Packaged: 2019-08-20 14:22:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16557419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reteryisk/pseuds/reteryisk
Summary: The Barrier nation of Rescario, otherwise known as Patchwork, is all that is left of humanity after a mysterious creature sucked all life out of the earth, leaving the world outside a barren, grey husk. The wasteland - a ring of dead ground and chaotic debris surrounding the edge of the barrier - is all that visibly remains to remind humanity of what has occurred. Even so, in this scrambled world cobbled together from bits and pieces of the old world, life goes on as it did before the apocalypse: you're born, go to school, grow up, and work until you die.One fateful night, fourteen-year old Minnie Webber decides to visit the wasteland with her older brother and his friends.





	1. Chapter 1

An empty space, grey and dusty. A plain that seems to span for miles, even with the curve of the false sky above them. Even knowing that such a place was so close to the dangers of the outside world, the lonely, dark atmosphere seemed to beckon those born in this closed-off world to it's corners, be it to embrace that darkness, or just to escape from the prying, safe eyes of their parents and guardians, if only for a short while. Some people would joke about how the absence of human life made this place much safer than the bustling nation of 50 million faces, all with varying moral codes and dubious expressions of self, but there was no denying that the odd combination of oppression and freedom one would feel when visiting this monochrome desert instilled in them a fear much greater than any aggressive alcoholic or suspicious stalker could ever even hope to achieve. After all, what it represented - the death of life itself - was a fear that even the tiniest bug could become paralyzed to face.

Of course, it wasn't like anyone willing to go there went there for some sort of quiet contemplation, or to give service to the billions upon billions of the dead. No, if the youth were going there for anything, it would be to drink themselves silly and fuck around. In more ways than one. Obviously.

This was the kind of snide thinking that ran through Minnie Webber's head as she watched the blues of the sky dome fade into the grays of its uncoloured edge, and the browns of the dirt that had already lost the green of the grass now lost their hues to the cold grays of the dead ground. Even from the safe view from the back-right window of an old school bus, she could still feel the discomfort and fear rush from her chest and down her back, sinking into the pit of her stomach like a fountain of shame and anxiety. At this point, however, she wasn't entirely sure if it was due to the dead world she was looking at - or the fact she'd even forced herself to come along in the first place.

She turned back to the book tucked on her lap, held up with her legs pressed up against the seat in front of her, and tried to turn her focus back to the whimsy of dragons and wizards that filled the pages before her. Despite herself, her mind remained on the fear of the moment.

_"Oh god. Oh god oh god oh god what the hell was I thinking..."_ She grit her teeth and raised a thumb to her mouth, flicking at one of her front teeth with an untrimmed nail in a vain attempt to calm down without going directly to nail-biting. _"God, what a stupid-ass decision. If we manage to get back home without dad killing us, I'm going to kill Zach for letting me come along for this stupid trip..."_

She looked up to a few seats in front of her on the left side, where she'd last seen her older brother sitting. Sure enough, she could see his crazy, stupid hairstyle from where she sat, dark brown in comparison to her own jet black hair, but sticking up with obnoxious looking tips in splashes of pink and red, as if Cupid himself had vomited Valentines all over his head. Next to him, she could also see the high blonde ponytail of his closest friend and occasional girlfriend, Claudia Griffin-Wells. She watched tiredly as her brother turned to face Claudia and the pair dipped down out of eyesight. That, combined with the sound of Claudia’s surprised, obnoxious laughter, meant it wasn't hard to figure out what was going on despite being out of sight. Minnie scoffed in disgust and looked back down to her book.

_"So... I guess that means they're dating again..."_ She scoffed again. _"God, has it even been one week since Zach broke up with Sidney? Ugh..."_

She looked back out the window. At this point, they were surrounded by nothing but the monochrome shades of the desert, and the colour from the farther away, livable areas they’d left behind were now obscured by the clouds of dust being kicked up by the lonely bus as it drove along as its fastest possible speed. There was no turning back now - she was stuck on this bus, along with the gaggle of about a dozen brain dead idiots, on their way to the literal edge of destruction. Oh, dear god, why.

It was then that she heard something slide under the seat in front of her. At first, she decided to ignore it, assuming it was just one of the boys from the fronts seat having another bag-sliding competition to see who'd get the last of their... drugs? Corn chips? Maybe both? It seemed like those were the only words they were capable of saying, based on the few seconds she'd wasted listening in on their banter. It was the first uttering from them about how much weed they'd apparently brought that convinced her to sit in the back in the first place. However, she began to feel at a bit of unease when she heard the mystery item once again, shuffling in a way that couldn't be gained by simply pushing an item. The two unnamed boys hadn't come up, so it was unlikely that it was the sound of them grabbing the bag...

She turned front ways to the source of the noise, obscured by her legs holding the book and the long skirt that covered them over. Pushing the skirt out of the way and shifting to the side to get a better look, and was met face-to-face with a gaunt, skeevy-faced teen staring back to her.

"EEEEAAGHHH!"

Everyone on the bus turned to the sound of a scream and a dull thud, followed by a weak "ow!" as Minnie now stood on her seat with a horrified expression on her face, and a second figure, tall and lanky, stood up, rubbing his nose.

"Christ, how many fuckin' pounds is that goddamn book?! Ugh, fuck, I think it broke my nose, you bitch!"

Minnie could only stand there, mortified at what was going on, eyes all directed on the two of them, and not even a simple stammer could escape her. Though she mainly wished that this was all a dream, just so that it would mean she could be home again, there was another part of her, seething, that hoped that the bus would happen to crash and kill every single one of them, if only to finally end this horrible moment. 

Everyone continued to stare, leaving Minnie violently hoping her vivid imagination would become reality, either one or the other. She even began contemplating a third option, of opening the window and jumping out. Certainly, the possibility of breaking every bone in her body and dying in a cold wasteland would be heaven compared to staying in this hellscape of a bus. It was only when her brother burst from his seat, eyes wild, did she snap back into what was unfortunately going on.

"Andy, what the fuck are you doing?!"

Zach got out from his seat, Claudia following suit, and went over to the two. He grabbed the boy, apparently named Andy, by the collar and lifted him high enough that only his toes were touching the bus floor.

"Hey, cool it man, I didn't do anything!"

"Like hell you weren't! You were trying to perv on my little sister, weren't you?!"

Claudia went up to Minnie, taking her hand and helping her down from the seat, before getting down to eye level with the shorter girl.

"Minnie, sweetie, are you okay? What happened, exactly?"

Zach, still holding Andy up, turned to face his sister, obviously hoping to get the answer as well. Minnie, still shaken by all the attention being sent her way, spoke up the best she could.

"I... I-I... He w-was under the seat in f-front of me." Minnie could still barely let out a mutter. "A...and he was looking up at me...." Her voice trailed off as she began speaking even quieter. "W-with a weird face..."

Though she wasn't certain how much her brother could hear, the anger on his face burned brighter as he turned back to Andy and threw him against the side of the bus. Again, he let out another dull cry of pain, as he righted himself and began rubbing his right shoulder.

"Ugh, what makes you think I'd want perv on an ugly-ass bitch like her, anyways? Besides, she's the idiot sitting with her legs up, n’ wearing a skirt!"

Already, the others on the bus began to casually chatter among themselves, and the louder ones of the group shouting and laughing at him.

"I wouldn't be saying that with a shitty mug like yours, Andy!"

"If you don't like her sittin' comfy, then stay off the floor!"

"Oh, boo hoo, you fuckin' pedo!"

A few of them threw things at his direction, mostly balled-up snack wrappers, and a half-eaten sandwich which managed to hit him directly on the left side of his head. From the direction it was thrown, the two stoners yelled "FIFTY POINTS!" and high-fived. Andy grimaced.

"Ugh. Seriously? Why the hell did you invite your sister along, anyways? She's probably gonna call the cops or something on us, and ruin the entire fucking trip."

"You're really going to say that, when you brought along your little brother?" Zach yelled back. "He's even younger than her!"

Minnie heard an uncomfortable whimper from behind her in the left seat across from her own, and turned slightly around to face it. Curled in a blanket, trying to hide, was said little brother, who seemingly wanted nothing more than to disappear.

"Yeah, well he isn't a goddamned snitch, is he? Everyone knows that he keeps his mouth shut!"

"Oh yeah, I can bet. With a nasty fucker like you for a brother, I bet it's easy to convince him to keep his mouth shut, huh?"

"Oh really? I'm surprised that, seeing how quick you were to be having her tag along, that you guys are probably-"

The bus came to a quick halt, and everyone fell forwards, Zach and Andy falling into the next seat while Claudia turned to Minnie and kept the two balanced. The bus driver, another high schooler like the lot of them but built like an Olympian in his 20's, got up and turned to the group, eyes bloodshot, and a vein in his forehead looking ready to burst.

"WEBBER, CALLODI! WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT ROUGHHOUSING ON MY BUS!!" He grabbed the two harshly by a shoulder each, Andy yelling as his shoulder once again was put into harm. "IF YOU WANNA FIGHT, **THEN DO IT WHEN WE GET OFF THE FUCKING BUS!!!"**

He let go of Zach, and grabbed Andy by the other shoulder, increasing pressure on both.

"Andrew." He spoke quieter, a smile on his face, but the venom still thick in his voice. "If you try to do anything to Webber's sister for the duration of this trip, I'm going to break your legs and throw you out of the bus window."

A glimmer of uncertainty and fear shone in Andy’s eyes before he went back to a snide look with an eye roll.

"Tch! Whatever. Like I said, I don't wanna be fucking around with a face like hers."

"It's good you understand, then." The bus driver turned around, nothing left to say, and started the bus back up. Both Zach and Andy moved back into the seats they were sitting in before, and everyone on the bus returned to what they were doing. Claudia, however, had grabbed a blanket from a bag under the seat and wrapped Minnie up into it.

"Minnie, do you want me to sit with you until we get to Arnold's Rock? I doubt Andy will try anything like that again, but if it makes you feel better-"

"No."

She spoke quietly, but sharply, still embarrassed by the entire moment that had just occurred. Claudia sighed, but solemnly nodded.

"Okay. Just know, if you need anyone, just ask me, and I can help."

Minnie shook her head, and Claudia let out one final sigh, before turning ahead and sitting back down with Zach. Minnie, having had enough of all of this, climbed back into the seat she was in before, now sitting with her head against the window and curled up with her knees close to her chest, and with the blanket, wrapped herself into a neat little egg, the tips of her sneakers still poking out. From the view, she saw Andy's little brother, who peeked out his head to look at her for one second, only to realize she was looking back and shrink away.

_“Same feeling here, buddy.”_

She leaned down, picking up her book from the dusty floor, before lightly tossing it onto the seat in front of her toes. Now having lost what little appetite she had left to read, she could only stay curled up in the blanket as she waited for this trip to finally be over.

_____________________________

Claudia slid back into the seat, Zach allowing her back into the window spot, as she let out another, much deeper sigh. Grabbing Zach’s arm, she pulled him close, bringing his face close to hers.

“Zach, I think the world of you, and not once in the time I’ve gotten to know you have I thought you’ve made a terrible decision like this one.” She spoke quietly, just above a whisper, so he could hear her above the sounds of the bus and the chatter. “You’ve made plenty of bad decisions, yes, and just as many moronic ones too, but you’ve always at least known that decision you were making was bad or dumb, because in the end, the idea was fun. What the hell made you think that bringing your little sister along for the trip out to Arnold’s Rock?”

“Hey, don’t look at me!” Zach kept himself at a whisper as well. “I didn’t ask her to go, she asked me. After our call last night, she came into my room and demanded that I take her along. I don’t know why she asked! Maybe she’s trying to prove something to someone, fuck if I know who.”

Claudia sat up and looked back to where Minnie was curled up. Minnie, noticing her, shot her an empty glare, and Claudia gave her a grin and a thumbs up before sinking back down into her seat once more.

“What, did you call her a goody-two-shoes one too many times? The poor girl is only fourteen! I mean, I don’t think anyone besides Andy would try to pull anything nasty on her, though, the fact that Andy is on this trip should’ve been enough to convince you to say no anyways… but I mean, besides that, something like this is clearly way out of her element!”

“Yeah, I’m aware of that, already!” He spoke a little louder. “And trust me, if Andy so much as try to breathe around her, I’ll be front and center to help Pyro break the fucker’s legs.” Zach looked over to Andy, just a couple seats away and still grumpy over the whole ordeal, and the bus driver, Pyro, who was back to driving the bus and whistling a relaxing tune to himself. “But... she threatened to tell dad about all of this if I didn’t let her go. What else could I do?”

Claudia paused, deep in thought, before letting out one final, long sigh as she leaned back against the window.

“Well, fine. At the very least, I’ll help you keep an eye on her until we get back. If we take turns, we can enjoy the night while still making sure your sister survives this unscathed.”

“Jeez…. Thanks.” Zach rubbed at his face, already tired before they even got to their destination. “If I had to watch her myself, I think I might scream…”

“No, I understand.” Claudia smiled. “She’s a sweet girl, but she’s definitely overbearing when it comes to having fun. And, after all, it’s only for one night, and I doubt she’ll try to run off or anything risky like that. It should be fine.”

“Hey, don’t jinx it. The last I need is for my sister to get into more trouble than she’s already into.”

_____________________________

“Brother, dear brother, over here! Another bus is driving towards the old statue.”

A tall woman in a gaudy light pink gown sat in a black computer chair, eyeing through a pair of stylish sunglasses a small monitor in the bottom-right corner out of a set of many, stacked on each other haphazardly. The entire sordid mess of wires and screens taking up the wall of the otherwise dark room seemed to threaten to topple over at a moments notice, but barely shook as another figure, a man adorned in an equally gaudy pink suit and stylish shades zealously strut into the room. Peering over his sister’s shoulder, he also watched the only screen with movement closely. It was a bit far from the camera, but a large vehicle was barreling through the wasteland and quickly making its way to the view of the next camera, and the next monitor.

“Well, well. What is this, the second one this fine night? It’s not very often we get more than one group coming out here on a fine weekend, such as this. Perhaps we should survey the situation from the balcony, Sister dearest.”

Without even a word, the brother snapped his fingers, and the two vanished from the room. The two reappeared in a much different place, at an intricate looking balcony, gold bars shaped into fancy swirls, a shining red floor patterned like jewels, and two rather comfy-looking recliners coloured in deep crimson hues, all sitting in the interior of a considerably plain-looking old grey building with no windows barring this little observatory. The two of them, looking over to the bus, peered through opera glasses that had seemingly appeared in their hands the second they arrived at the balcony.

“So, I can only assume it is yet _another_ band of partying teenagers?” The brother sighed dramatically.

“It would appear so.” She took in the details of the bus while it passed by. It was easy to tell it was an old school bus, based on the clunkier shape, but the entire thing had been painted black, along with some random designs. The most striking of these, taking up most of the side they were able to look upon, was a rather lewd design of a woman with short red hair, with only some miscellaneous symbols painted over her to just barely preserve modesty. “I can tell just by looking that we’ve certainly got ourselves some sophisticated party-goers making their way to the edge of the dome.”

“Sarcasm does not flatter you, Sister.” The Brother chuckled. “Perhaps it would do some good to keep an eye on those poor fools, just in case… you know.”

The Sister, in turn, began to chuckle as well.

“Well, of course. It would be a real shame if they were to meet a tragic fate, on a night like this.”

Their chuckles slowly grew, until they erupted into full-blown laughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, I post the first chapter! I wrote it almost a year ago... I'm a touch bereft of speed. 
> 
> I've got five chapters written out so far (with some editing needed) I don't really have any schedule for posting these, however, but perhaps once a week, at least for these pre-written chapters.


	2. Chapter 2

“Ahh, god – we’re finally out of that stupid fucking bus! If I had to sit in that piss-encrusted filth-monster for any longer, I’d’ve goddamn suffocated!”

  
One of the stoners – Minnie had learned that this one, the shorter, thinner one of the two, was named Freddy – was the first to get off the bus, stretching his arms and yawning, to the point where he was almost on his toes. Pyro stepped off right behind him, putting a heavy hand on his shoulder.

  
“I’m sorry, mind repeating what you just said about my bus bein’ fucking stupid?”

  
“Ah-! I mean, nothing, it’s a lovely bus.” He shrunk down as if he’d had a bar of pure lead placed on him.

  
“That’s what I thought.”

  
Grinning, he gave Freddy a firm pat on the back, almost sending him flying forward, but he held his stance as he began to laugh nervously. Right behind them came the other stir-crazy teens, charging out of the bus with excitement and impatience. Pyro turned his attention back to them, once again furrowing his eyebrows.

  
“HEY, YOU DIPSHITS, DID YOU FORGET MY RULES!? IF YOU FUCKERS EVEN LEAVE ONE SCRATCH ON THE DOOR BE READY TO LIVE THE REST OF YOUR LIVES OUT IN THE WASTELANDS, BECAUSE I SURE AS HELL ‘AINT DRIVING YOUR SORRY ASSES BACK!! JASON, IF YOU THROW THE REST OF YOUR SANDWICH AGAIN-!”

  
By this point, most everyone had filed out of the bus, all except for two people. Minnie had barely moved from where she’d curled up on the seat just forty-five minutes before, having made the decision that, until they were able to get back home, she would not budge from this spot. Once they did make their way back, she’d treat this entire trip as a dream, and never do anything her brother liked, ever again. A perfect plan.

  
However, what was currently ruining this plan was the second person still aboard, as Andy's little brother, still sitting across the way, continued to steal glances at her just out of the corner of the blanket covering his head. At first, she’d been feeling sympathetic to the poor boy, just by knowing that such a creep like Andy could be his brother, but as the trip went on and his constant awkward stares continued, she began feeling less sorry and more annoyed at the meek-looking boy. At worst, she thought, it could’ve been possible that the two brothers were, at the core, more alike than a first glance could garner. Either way, she could only feel her stress continue to accumulate as the boy refused to leave the bus like everyone else, and she could only beg to the heavens that something would end this awkward silence and leave her in peace.

  
“Umm….”

  
Minnie looked over as the boy had finally spoken up, shooting him a nasty looking sneer in a vague attempt to unsettle the boy in return.

  
“What the heck do you want?”

  
The boy, surprisingly, jumped at the minor burst of aggression. If she weren’t so tired after the entire bus ride, she’d have been more likely to be struck down with guilt by such a pathetic display.

  
“Uhhhh…… um…… I………..uhhhh……”

  
Minnie closed her eyes. Usually, she was the one to stutter like crazy at the face of a stranger, but now that the shoe was on the other foot, and her empathy completely drained, she felt like the snarkiest girl alive. As well as that, as he took so long to try and say anything, it gave her enough time to compose herself with a few semi-confident answers to any questions he might've had. However, he continued to stutter, before trailing off and curling into himself.

  
“Are you going to say something already?”

  
“I….I….” It seemed like just this much drove the poor boy to the edge of tears, before he shut his eyes and took a deep breath.

  
“Um… y…your name is Winnie, right?”

  
“It’s Minnie.”

  
He silently began to panic for a split second once again after getting her name wrong, and finally, by this point, some of her empathy returned to her. Though, by returned to her, it was more like it finally slammed into her, like someone had thrown a brick through the window and got her square in the back. Everything but her eyes loosened, and she too began to stutter.

  
“Um…. It’s, uh, a common mistake. They sound… alike?”

  
It seemed to slightly relax him, and he spoke up once more.

  
“Um… it’s just, like…. my brother…. and like, he….um….”

  
It seemed that he was completely incapable of even figuring out what he was trying to say, let alone how to say it. Was he trying to apologize for what his brother did? Or worse, trying to come up with an excuse for his actions? Though she could still feel some pity weighing her opinion down, her annoyance began to take her over once more with every little attempt he made to articulate himself.

  
His attempts, however, would be put on hold, as Andy rushed back onto the bus, making a beeline for his brother.

  
“Goddamn it, get the fuck up!” Andy kicked the seat, causing the boy to jump once again. “I didn’t drag you along just for you to laze around the bus, now get up before I bash your damn skull in!”

  
The younger boy hurriedly got up from his seat, nodding.

  
“I… um… okay….”

  
“And let go of that dumb blanket!”

  
Before he could react, Andy had pulled the blanket off from his brother’s head. Based on both the faint snapping sound Minnie could hear as well as the sudden yelp in pain, he’d probably ripped some of his hair out in the process. For the split second she could see him clearly, it wasn’t hard to see the family resemblance, even having a similar shade of dirty-blonde hair and sunken-in eyes, though Andy certainly looked more shriveled and unsightly than the rounder, tinier brother. However, he was quick to pull up the hood from his oversize hoodie before she could gauge any other details, tightening the strings and not letting go as he rushed off the bus, his creep brother watching with a snide smirk.

  
Unfortunately, he turned over to Minnie and coldly stared directly into her eyes, freezing her in place as it slowly dawned on her – it was only her, and the creepy older boy, that were left on the bus. Even worse than that, said boy was blocking her only viable exit.

  
For seconds that felt more like eons, she could see that, though avoiding any eye contact, he continued to stare her down, his stare getting colder… and was he getting closer? She looked away to the bus door, hoping desperately that someone would at least happen upon this moment, but all she could hear was the zealous yelling from the overly hyped members of the group. At this point, even without looking, she could tell by the unholy combined scent of cheap overbearing body spray and an unwashed pile of laundry doused in tomato sauce that him getting closer was not, in fact, some sort of delusion brought on by intimidation. Instinctively, she could feel herself cringe and curl up, her eyes shutting as she begged for someone, anyone, to finally notice what was going on.

  
Finally, he broke his gaze, scoffing and turning around to make his way out of the bus, but not before hissing through his teeth.

  
“Cowardly bitch.”

  
Minnie, still curled up in the blanket, let out a wince, hurt by the comment, but still relived that the entire horror story she’d just lived ended as neutral as it did. Now, two more things to add to her list of things to do after getting out of this nightmare – buy as much pepper spray as she could, and avoid corners for the rest of her life.

 

 

As if on queue, or perhaps simply due to the obviousness of her being left on the bus with Andy, Zach and Claudia boarded the bus, though Claudia veered over to the bag where she’d gotten the blanket for Minnie, and pulled it out from its spot, dragging it out of the bus with only a gentle wave back to her. Zach, however, grabbed his sister’s arm, pulling weakly as if he’d expected her to yield immediately. Of course, putting up resistance, she didn’t move an inch.

  
“Hey!”

  
“I’m not letting you stay on this bus, tiny.” Zach growled, easily having read her mind of her entire plan, and gripped her arm tighter. “Me and Claudia aren’t letting you out of our sight until this nightmare you’ve created by coming along is over. Oh, and since I’ve already brought it up, thanks so much for ruining this entire night for me!”

  
Minnie’s entire face soured further, and she kicked her brother in the stomach as hard as she could. Despite not entirely expecting it, he still managed to keep his balance and his grip.

  
“My fault?! You’re the one that let me come along in the first place! Why the heck didn’t you stop me, if I was going to ruin it for you?”

  
“Well, maybe if you didn’t, oh, I dunno, _blackmail me_ into taking you along, by saying you’d tell dad, I would’ve been a bit more hesitant, huh?”

  
Minnie stopped struggling with her brother, and pouted as tears began to form out from the corner of her eyes.

  
“W-well… maybe I wouldn’t have…. Maybe if you told me about that creep that was coming along, I would’ve taken it back, _huh?!_ ”

  
Zach’s grit his teeth in annoyance, knowing that, while his sister was right about that having been a good idea, there was still little chance of her giving up on her idiotic plan of coming along anyways. After all, she’d have probably made some excuse about “not looking like a target” or some idiotic bullshit in that vein of denial. Even then, having not spent near as much time around Andy up until this point, he’d had no real clue that he’d so something as shitty as that, even while knowing how his reputation proceeded him, as Claudia had brought up earlier.

  
“I… I’m not the one who set this all up, dumbass! I didn’t even know he was going to be on this trip until we got on the bus!” It was a shitty lie, one that Claudia would bore her guilt-inducing face of displeasure into him for if she were still on the bus, but he needed anything, just anything, to get his sister to cooperate and salvage the rest of the night. “Besides, me and Claudia aren’t gonna babysit you on this bus, and do you really wanna end up stuck in a dark bus overnight, a bus where someone would only have to stand in the hallway to keep you trapped inside?”

  
Minnie flinched, thinking back to what had occurred just a minute before. Really thinking on it, yeah, staying on this bus would mean that a nightmare like that could strike at any point, and with a much worse ending, especially with all that alcohol they brought… as terrifying as she found the idea of being out in the wasteland was, it was at least that – an empty, flat wasteland. Nothing bad, just a dead, boring, grey desert. So long as she didn’t stray too far, she would be fine just finding a space a little ways away to get privacy instead. Plus, even if she got left behind by mistake, then their dad would find out anyways, and help would probably arrive quickly to get her. The worst thing she would be, then, was alone and bored.

  
“F…fine. But, I’m not going to drink or do any crazy stuff like you guys!”

  
“Like I expected you to?! As long as you stay within eyeshot of us, things will be fine, okay?”

  
“Okay. Can you finally get go of my arm?”

  
Zach sighed, and released her arm. Standing up, she patted her skirt down, and wrapped herself back into the blanket.

  
“Just… don’t forget.” Zach’s voice was slightly more solemn. “Most of these guys are pretty cool. None of them are gonna let you get hurt, even if you try.”

  
Minnie said nothing, but it wasn’t hard to tell by the look on her face that she didn’t believe him for a second.

  
“…Fine. Just… let’s go. There should be a good spot for you to sit and read nearby.”

 

* * *

 

“HEY! Just where the hell do you assholes think you’re sitting?!”

  
The entire group had been walking for ten minutes – Arnold’s Rock, the place they’d been seeking out, was enclosed in the middle of a forest of large rocks and debris, of which Pyro refused to drive the bus through, concerned more with the risk of getting the bus scratched up than deal with everyone complaining about carrying the supplies. However, once they’d gotten close enough to Arnold’s rock, a huge formation that curved up into the sky, providing excellent cover, near-perfect seating, and amazing acoustics, everyone could hear a high-quality set of speakers blasting a recent dance track, and the obnoxious, squeaky sound of high-class laughter. As if propelled by sheer antagonist force, Zach bolted ahead to check on just who the hell was using their favorite spot, when he stopped dead in his tracks at what he saw. Even from the far back of the group, Minnie could see her brother’s face twist in anger and annoyance, as a blonde boy with a pointed nose and a violet polo shirt had popped out from the inside of Arnold’s rock, and gave a knowing smile.

  
“…Hewitt.”

  
“Ah, if it isn’t _Thackery_? And how are you on this fine evening, good sir!?”

  
“Cut the crap, _Billy_.” Zach looked like he was going to strangle him. “What the hell are you and your goons doing here, anyways?”

  
“Well, isn’t that obvious?” He pressed his hands together, in a way even Minnie found snobbish and condescending. “We decided to have our end of the month social in the wastelands, to spice things up! We’re not so familiar with such… interesting places such as this, so we were so lucky that dear Sydney was here with us to point us at such a nice location!”

  
“ _…WHAT._ ”

  
Zach peered into Arnold’s Rock, to see a young man, now wearing a light blue dress shirt and a freshly trimmed Taper Fade, who didn’t even look in his direction.

  
“ _You…_ ” Zach’s eyes looked like they were turning blood red. “What the HELL is your problem?!”

  
_“What_ problem?” Hewitt gave an obviously phony smile. “I just offered him the chance to hang out with us, is all. After all, his father _did_ just recently become the president of the Board of Agriculture… so he may as well make some friends before he inevitably gets transferred to Saint Hitchcock!”

  
Minnie had seen her brother get mad plenty of times before – after all, he was the type that wore his heart on his sleeve at all times, for better or for worse. As a result, he would get angry at a lot of petty things, from yelling at their father for eating some leftover Chinese that he’d been saving in the fridge, to cursing after accidentally folding the corner of a new poster he was trying to hang up in his room. Heck, even before, on the bus, he quickly got angry and violent after… that mess. This, however, was on a completely different level, the kind of anger Minnie wasn’t sure she’d seen from him, at least not for a long while. Unlike usual, he was silent, staring straight at the pompous boy with an intense glare in his eyes, and his fists, fastened right to his sides, he held so hard into fists that they’d begun to shake.

  
“ALRIGHT MOTHERFUCKER, THIS IS THE LAST STRAW!!”

  
Zach launched himself right at the other boy, almost feral in his actions. Minnie jumped back, surprised at her brother’s sheer ferocity – that was quickly stopped by Pyro, jumping forwards and grabbing Zach by the arms, holding him back.

  
“Cool it, Webber! You know he’s not fucking worth it!!”

  
“Let me go, dammit! You know he has it coming! I’m gonna break that damn skewer for a nose right off his smug face!”

  
Claudia also made her way out of the crowd, grabbing him by the shoulder.

  
“It doesn’t matter! We can just set up at Robert Crater tonight, just calm down!”

  
Though Hewitt had initially jumped back in fear, he quickly straightened himself up, and began to confidently chuckle. Others in his group, who’d been watching the show intently, began to laugh alongside him.

  
“Well-oh-well, it seems like _Zachy-boy_ brought his parents along for the little camping trip, did he? We’re not here to cause any trouble, so perhaps you should just be on your way?” Hewitt’s eyes crawled their way to Claudia, and his smug smile grew deeper. “Obviously, you don’t want to get in any more trouble than you’re already in.”  
Pyro and Claudia both stared daggers at the boy. Everyone else in their group, as Minnie could tell, were beginning to look equally pissed off, save for the confused younger boy, and Andy and a few of the people next to him, who were trying to stifle a laugh.

  
“Gladly.” Claudia was first to speak up. “After all, I don’t think your mother would be very happy to see you making a ruckus out here, either. It’s been a while since I’ve last seen her, perhaps I should call her right now. I know how much she misses me.”

  
Hewitt kept his confident smirk, but it was clear in his eyes that what she’d said put him on edge.

  
“Good for you. Have a nice time at _Robert Crater_ , then.”

  
“We will.” Pyro let Zach go, now that he’d grown tired of failing to free himself from his grasp. “Just don’t assume I’ll try to be quick enough to grab him if he tries to get a swing in at’cha again.”

  
“I think I can deal with that. Run along now.”

  
Everyone in the group began grumbling, as they pick up the supplies and began marching away, left of where they’d been going. Minnie stood there, flabbergasted at what had just happened.

  
“Is… is this normal?!”

  
“Normal enough, for your brother at least.”

  
Minnie jumped, surprised at someone replied to her question, to see Claudia standing behind her, hands on her hips. Minnie let out a sigh of relief and annoyance.  
“Uh huh… who the hell was that, exactly?"

  
It was Claudia's turn to sigh.

  
"William Hewitt, rich kid. You might've guessed by his last name, but his father is Vice President Tobias Hewitt. It... it would take way too long to get into the details of him and your brother's... relationship."

  
Claudia smacked her lips together and began looking annoyed, making it obvious that she really did not want to get into it. Minnie, though still confused, nodded slowly, before turning back to her brother, leading the charge and yelling out loud, though now it come off as more jokey and boisterous - as per usual, for him. Freddy and Jason even chimed in, yelling and hollering alongside him. Out of the corner of her eye, she could also spot the bus driver, eyes closed, and speaking under his breath, though she couldn't quite make out what he was saying.

  
"Alright...uh... I'm glad things worked out, I guess."

  
"Don't count your blessings just yet, Minnie. We've got a twenty minute walk ahead of us."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Week? More like a month. Bereft of speed.
> 
> Also, I got an awesome commission from the amazing greenie/musorkot of one of the characters! I absolutely love it!
> 
> [YEEAHHH](https://twitter.com/musorkot/status/1069037720754941953)
> 
> This character won't be relevant for a little while yet, but I really am quite excited to get to him...


	3. Chapter 3

They finally got to their destination - Robert Crater, an empty block of land shaped like a bowl, only accentuated by a large statue sticking up over it, threatening to tip into the crater and crush whoever was in its path. Without any cause for alarm at this, the group quickly got to setting up, pouring out all their collected food and drinks into the middle of the crater, and setting up a decent-sized boom box on a good-sized bump located in the left side of the crater, if looking at it with the statue sitting from exactly behind it. It wasn't even ten minutes in before they'd all settled, chatting, drinking, and going on, even louder than they had on the bus. Minnie, in the meantime, had grabbed another one of the blankets to sit on, and sat to the right of the statue, holding a small booklight up to her book as the barrier began to dim into night. She'd initially tried setting up on the opposite side of the statue, facing away from the crater, but after her brother complained loud enough, they eventually compromised on where she now sat.

Though she did her best to ignore the hollering from behind her, she found herself stealing glances at the group every so often, curious about what was going on. Needless to say, it was entirely what she expected - nothing but drinking, smoking, and fooling around, often finding herself turning back quick if she saw anything that... well, she was uncomfortable with. Regardless of where she was looking over, the most prominent thing that kept her attention was Andy's consistent yelling, mostly directed at his brother.

"Hey, Corky! Fetch me and Kyle two more beers, stat! And don't shake them up this time!"

The boy straightened up and nodded, rushing over to a nearby cooler and pulling out a couple of drinks, and then rushing back over, Minnie taking another moment to watch the scene in front of her. No sooner had the younger boy gotten in close proximity to Andy did said brother crush one of his empty cans and throw it at his head.

"No you fucking moron, two _each!_ What kind of bullshit are you trying to pull here?!"

As half the group burst out laughing, Minnie's turned around, nose curled in disgust.

"Zach.... does he seriously think that these... these _assholes_ are nice?! What a load... I always knew he was a stupid jerk..."

She closed her book, sighing.

_"I can't read like this... they're too loud... there's gotta be a way out of this, somehow."_

She took another look out to the group, wondering about her options. For a moment, she focused on the younger boy, picking up some of the cans littered around and putting them in a pile.

_"Jeez, kid... between a name like 'Corky' and your brother, you must have a pretty garbage family..."_

It took another few moments of looking out at the group, most barely distinguishable from one another, before she noticed something... strange.

_"Huh... that bus driver's missing... and Zach is too."_ Her face twisted into an unimpressed but slightly bemused gaze, as reasons for their absence began flooding her mind. _"Of course he is. He can't keep himself to one person for even a day! Not only that... so much for 'watching my every move' or whatever..."_

"You know, if you want to join the party, you're free to at any time."

Minnie snapped back in alarm, hitting the back of her head on the statue.

"Ow..."

She looked up to see, once again, Claudia had managed to sneak up behind her without warning, and was holding a can of soda. Stifling a laugh, she held the can forward for her to take.

"Sorry... here, I brought this for you to drink, but maybe you might want it to soothe your poor head."

Minnie stared at it for a moment, before slowly taking it. She took a close look at the label, even taking a moment to check the underside of the can.

"This doesn't have anything weird in it, right?"

Claudia's face went blank for a moment.

"Why would you think I'd do that? It's not even open yet."

"Hmmph. Okay."

She didn't bother holding it to her sore head, but instead opened it, and took a small sip. It at least didn't taste like alcohol, and it _was_ mango flavoured... and, she only just realized, she was much thirstier than she thought. She took a larger drink and let out a sigh.

Claudia, in the meantime, sat next to her, giving her a kind smile.

"So, how are you holding up?"

Minnie sat the drink down and scoffed.

"My brother and that bus driver aren't down there." She spoke quietly, not really interested in talking.

"Yeah." Though she'd had her question ignored, she went along with it. "Pyro - that's what we call him, by the way - wanted to go back and park the bus a little closer, since he didn't want to leave it closer to the other group and risk it getting trashed. You can probably guess based on his size that he's more than able to handle himself against a group of people, but Zach decided to go with him. Better than going alone, right? He's always been like that, trying to help others."

"He's probably hoping he'll get to beat up that pointy-nosed dork if he goes." Minnie rolled her eyes, her voice a little louder. "Besides, helpful? Dad still has to kick his butt before he can get him to do any chores."

Claudia let out a small chuckle.

"I find that hard to imagine... your dad's such a sweet man."

"Yeah, maybe when he's not annoyed. That idiot just somehow manages to press every one of his buttons, every time."

"Hmm..." Claudia smiled, though her eyes looked a little distant. "Honestly, I think that's just the way kids are with their parents. At some point, you just wanna do the opposite of what they want you to do. But, even if you all fight a lot... I can tell Zach really cares about you both."

"You keep praising him." Minnie was beginning to get annoyed again. "Did he pay you to talk to me and make him look good, or something?"

Claudia looked at her for a moment, wistful smile still on her face, before getting up again, patting the dust off her legs.

"I just figured you needed someone to talk with, for a little while. That's all."

"I... I'm good." Minnie avoided eye contact. "I've got my book, so I'll be fine."

"Well... alright. Just don't be afraid to come down and grab something to eat or drink, okay? No one's going to judge if you do."

"I already said I'll be fine." Minnie's voice was barely above a whisper. "Can I be alone now?"

"...Okay."

Claudia took off, sliding down the crater and yelling back at the others. Taking one more drink from her soda, Minnie opened her book, and began to peacefully pass the time away once more.

____

 

"Well, Webber..." Pyro marched along, hands in his pockets. "Your sister... she's definitely the quiet type, that's for sure."

Zach rolled his eyes as he shuffled along.

"Quiet? Yeah, maybe when there's a bunch of people around... I swear, the second I'm at home with her, she needs to bitch about everything. Everything! Any time dad tells her to do anything, she complains, and then I end up having to do it! It's hell on earth!"

"Come on. A little hard work doesn't kill anyone."

"Dude, you've seen my house. It's way too big for three people, and I'm the only one that actually cleans it."

"Heh. Maybe you should see if your Dad'll let my family move in. I'd rather deal with cleaning a large house than being stuck in that shitty apartment we've got."

"Maybe..."

Once again, the chatting trailed off. The entire time they'd spent walking, all they'd managed to do was bring up some small talk, then spend the next few minutes in silence until someone spoke up, only to repeat the cycle. Pyro, was never much one to talk to... well, anyone, as far back as Zach could remember. After all, it had only been barely a year since most people were willing to start approaching the guy, considering his less than savory reputation. Even shitlords like Andy knew to be wary of the guy, even with how calm he acted nowadays. Well, except when it concerned that bus. Old habits die hard.

Once again, minutes passed by in silence. Zach would never admit it, but in silence, with only one other person around, he could feel chills begin to run down his back. It was a solid reminder that this entire area was abandoned for a good reason - it was completely dead. He couldn't entirely remember what he'd earned about it in history, but whatever had destroyed the world outside had managed to creep in and kill everything about 90 kilometres to the edge of the barrier. It wasn't a lot, considering the size of the interior, but actually being here, and walking silently, really made him think about how much empty, barren land was there, and how isolated the area was, so if anything were to happen, getting trapped, or breaking a leg, if one was all alone...

"There it is. Let's get going."

Pyro pointed over to the bus, sitting a ways off.

"Alright! Finally, it's getting really boring out- hey, what's that?"

Just left of the bus, behind some of the debris, Zach could make out a large puddle of... something odd looking, like oil, but lighter. It shone in bright colours, swirling around in a vortex of white, compared to the black colour of oil.

"It's probably just some tainted water. Just leave it alone, don't know what that shit'll do to you."

"But... there's more of them."

Zach and Pyro both looked out at the stretch of land before them. Indeed, there were more puddles of about equal size, spread out uniformly.

"What the hell... are these some kind of footprints?" Zach looked around, curious.

"The fuck would cause footprints like these?! Let's just get the bus, and get going already."

"Pyro, look at the direction these are going in. You don't think-"

"Z-zach?"

From behind one of the pillars of debris, the two boys could hear someone shuffling, and call a name. When the face peaked out from behind, both were shocked at who they saw.

"Billy?"

Indeed, it was the same, smarmy boy they'd been talking with, just fourty minutes before. However, instead of the clean, well put-together young man Zach knew and loathed, they instead lay eyes on a boy, clothes dusty and torn, hair wild, and arms, legs and face covered in small cuts and scrapes.

"I...I... Zach... i-it came out of... out of nowhere..."

He stumbled over, before falling to their feet, a shivering mess.

"I... it... ahhh....AHHH..."

"H-holy shit! Uh... Pyro, let's get him on the bus!"

Pyro gave him a bewildered look, but picked him up as carefully as he could. The scared young man, seemingly not even recognizing who picked him up, curled in towards him, still shaking.

"What the hell kind of thing reduced him to something like this?" Pyro looked a touch sickened. 

"M... maybe we should go get everyone... if there's something out there that can do this..."

"Ahhh.... AHHHHHHH!!!!"

The scared boy pointed towards the distance. Just as the two turned around, they could feel the ground rumble beneath them.

____

"Something sounds off, man."

Freddy was looking away from the group, staring into the distance. He held a bag of chips in one hand, and his other, salted hand, was held up to his ear, as he was trying to listen to something.

"Dude, are you already high? I didn't see you crack open that bag of yours!" Jason, leaning back in a pool chair that he'd managed to bring along, sneered. "You better not have been going through my shit already."

"No, come on man, I'm talking about those Hitchcock assholes. When we were setting up, I could still hear their stupid normie music, even with our shit playing. But like, I can't hear it anymore."

"I know you have good ears man, but seriously. They probably just turned it down or something, couldn't deal with _loud sounds_ with their _weak little baby ears._ Or fuck, maybe Pyro finally snapped and went there to kill them all, that could totally happen."

"Ugh, don't joke about that shit. It still feels weird, though. Like, it's way too quiet."

"Stop talking crazy! They're far away, and we're in the middle of nowhere. Of course it's gonna be quiet as hell. that's the point!"

"What, so Freddy's hearing stuff again?"

Jason looked up, to see Claudia standing above him.

"Man, you just really love coming out of nowhere, huh Sweetheart?" Jason grinned. "Yeah, he's getting all wound up about not hearing any sounds or something."

"Wait, I think I hear something now?" He leaned forward, trying to listen. "It sound like something rumbling, or, like... growling."

"Dude, come on, there's nothing out here, get a grip! It's the damn wastelands, and nothing survives living in these parts!"

"Shut up, Jason." Claudia folded her arms. "Seriously Freddy, do you really thing think you hear something like that out here?"

"Yeah. Plus, I'm pretty sure that whatever's making that sound, it's getting louder, and... _getting closer._ "

Both Jason and Claudia paused for a moment. Though it was low and distant, they too, could now hear a rumbling sound, and indeed, it was getting closer. Immediately, Claudia went over to the boombox, and shut it off.

"Hey, what the hell, Claudia?!"

"You turned it off right at the good part, you bitch! Turn it back on!"

"Shut up for a moment!" Claudia snapped back. "You guys can hear that, can't you?"

Everyone went quiet for a moment, and indeed, there was a rumbling, coming from not far away. Closer, and closer...

Finally, from the right side, the bus burst on the scene, driving through and parking right next to the crater. Everyone there let out a sigh of annoyance.

"You seriously thought we were in danger or some shit?! Holy fuck, it's just Pyro and his damn bus." 

"Well, I guess we had more than one paranoid bitch on this trip, didn't we?!" Andy laughed, throwing another can behind him.

"No, guys!" Freddy still looked worried. "It's slow, but can still hear that sound, getting closer! It's definitely-"

The bus doors burst open, and Zach burst out, face white as a sheet.

"GUYS, GET IN THE BUS! WE GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE, **NOW!!!!** "

Everyone looked at him confused, not sure what to say.

"Zach, what the hell? What's got you freaked?"

**"LISTEN TO WHAT HE'S SAYING, AND GET ON THE DAMN BUS!!!"**

Pyro, though he didn't leave the bus, was loud enough to get people to action. Despite how confused they all were, everyone started to awkwardly collect their things, and make a beeline for the bus. Claudia ran up to Zach, concern evident on her face.

"Zach, what's wrong? Is there something out there?!"

"I'll explain on the bus, okay?! Right, now, we've gotta get out of here, or that... that _thing's_ gonna-!"

Before he could finish, the ground was shaken by a loud, ear-piercing screech, from a source not that far away. 

Barreling towards the group, was what looked, at least somewhat, like a bear. However, it definitely wasn't an average bear - even from a now rapidly closing-in distance, it was clearly two or three times the size it should've been, and was covered, to the point that it looked like it was melting, in some unnatural looking waste, that shone in bright colours, much of which was also leaking out of it's mouth profusely. Most alarmingly, was it's eyes - a blank, blank void, showing no light, but still clearly staring directly down at them.

"WHAT THE FUCK _IS_ THAT THING?!"

"DUDE, DO YOU FUCKING CARE?! JUST RUN!?!"

Everyone in the group that hadn't finished getting things together dropped what they were holding, and ran for the bus. Already, however - the bear had caught up, and jumped up high into the air, landing square in the crater, where a few stragglers still stood, getting covered in the whatever was dripping from the creature's matted fur and agape mouth. Above this all, was Minnie - frozen in place, and unable to move.

"W-what is this...?!" 

She desperately wanted to run - be it to or away from the bus - but it was almost as if her legs, shaking violently, were deeply rooted to the ground, keeping her from moving, keeping her eyes focused on the giant creature before her.

"H-HELP ME!! I CAN'T- HELp me... it hurts..."

The boy Minnie knew was named Kyle, based on him hanging out with Andy just before, began crawling out of the crater in her direction, slowly pulling his body up out of the crater and towards her, the sickly sweet stench of burning sugar filling the air. It was then, right there, she could see why.

The boy's lower half was completely gone, slowly melting away into the bizarre substance, not even leaving bone behind as it slowly ate away at everything - his arms, his hands, and now, his face - a trail of that shining slime, leaving bits and pieces of himself behind, they too melting away like ice on a hot stove - and yet he was still moving forward, voice slowly growing raspy as he continued to melt away.

"don't leave me here... help me... help me... it hurts..."

Minnie, eyes wide, couldn't even scream, but finally found the will to move, backing away from the boy, now trying to make a grab at her ankles with what little remained of his hands. Zach, taking notice, rushed forward.

"MINNIE! COME HERE, RUN!!"

"I... I can't..." There was no way Zach could properly hear her as she mumbled these words. From behind the remains of the boy, still crawling despite nothing being left, she could see the few others who'd gotten splashed were also melting away, crawling towards the others at the bus.

"MINNIE!!!"

His voice was drowned out, however, by the bear roaring once more, so loud and ear-piercing that the ground shook underneath them, knocking anyone still outside the bus down the the ground.

Zach, who'd fallen to his knees, steadied himself, coughing up some dust that blew up around his face. Straining to see, he looked towards where Minnie had been standing.

For just a split second, he could see her, having finally regained her senses, and now, finally starting to run away. In the opposite direction.

"AH! HEY, DON'T RUN THAT WAY!"

The bear, suddenly still, took one sniff of the air, and jumped out of the crater, now completely soaked in it's bizarre saliva. It broke into a sprint, running away from the bus, now instead heading in the direction that Minnie had run.

"That... that dumbass!"

Zach got back up from his knees, and began sprinting in their direction. He didn't get far, however, before Claudia managed to grab him by the arm.

"Are... are you crazy?!" She kept a calm tone, but it was clear she was shaken. "Look, we need to take advantage of this! The bear's gone, and we need to get out of here, and get some help..."

"NO!"

He violently shook her hand off, and looked back at her for one minute. She felt struck dead by his gaze - though his face was filled with tears, eyes red and wide, and a bit of undignified snot dripping from his nose - she'd never seen him with such a serious, determined look in his eyes before.

"Do you really think I'm going to leave her behind out there, being chased by that thing? You're the crazy one here!"

And then, he ran off as well.

_"Minnie... you might be annoying as hell... you might be no fun, and complain about everything... but please, don't get caught by this thing! Like I said... I'm not going to let you out of my sight until this nightmare of a trip is over!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol


	4. Chapter 4

At that moment, Minnie regret comparing her past experiences that night to feeling like the passing of eons. If those were eons, then this moment was an infinite, immeasurable amount of time, further compounding her regret at ever coming on this stupid, stupid trip. Hindsight may be a bitch, but even her most anxious, craziest, worst-case-scenario fantasies would've never come to the conclusion of, well, what was currently happening. Worse yet, even with the adrenaline pumping through her veins, she could already feel her exercise-deprived body grow tired with every step, especially as she did her best to maneuver past crumbled rock, twisted metal, and other assorted shrapnel that twisted and towered over the landscape. Behind her, pushing all of that away as it closed in, was the giant mutant bear.

Perhaps, if she wasn't so panicked, the thoughts scrambling in her mind would be a little clearer, and at least give way to something that could lead her out of this situation. But as the monster grew closer and closer, rabid jaws snapping at the air as if it were pulling itself forward, and the disgusting sweet smell of its breath growing warmer on her back, she could feel her fear and panic overtake her further, until she couldn't take any more.

And finally, she tripped.

It wasn't a normal trip, like if she'd stepped on her own foot. If she had, she'd have immediately been caught up with, and more than likely, would already be half-melted, maybe even chewed up, by the terrifying creature above her. Rather, when she'd tripped over a thin, metal board, she hit what could only be described as a stroke of both luck and unluck - the ground fell out beneath her.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-!!"

It was a decent tumble downwards, through the tiny hole, and she hit the ground with a dull thud.

"...Ow..."

Fortunately, she hadn't fallen on her head, or broken any bones. Something somewhat soft, and disgustingly musty, had broken her fall. It was impossible to make sense of anything in this bizarre space, as the only light, too dim to properly see with, came from the hole, about eight feet above her. Immediately, she reached into the pocket of her skirt.

"Oh man! Thank god!"

From her pocket, she pulled out the booklight, the one she'd been using before. When everything first started, back when Claudia turned off the music, she wasn't sure if she'd put it away or not.

Just in time, as the bear had turned around, and was pawing at the hole.

"Eeee!" Minnie fumbled with the light, and turned it on.

Wherever she was, it certainly hadn't been in use for a while. Besides some stray pillows and mattresses, including the one she'd landed on, there was nothing in the dusty room. All that was left was its metal walls, floors and even the ceiling, all patterned in an unnatural looking rust. She stood up, moving closer to one of the walls.

The bear, apparently tired of trying to get a paw in, instead stuck its nose in the hole. Like syrup poured on pancakes, its saliva dripped down through the hole and hit the mattresses, melting them down as if they were made of cotton candy.

"Oh, oh no... please tell me there's a door out of here."

Twisting around, light pointed forward, she easily found what she was looking for. A huge, metal door, something very military in appearance, sitting ajar to her left, with no view but the darkness ahead. For a moment, she froze.

_"Of... of course I had to land in the single creepiest looking place, while running from some monster! How... how can I be certain that there's not going to be more of these things, if I keep going? Maybe this is some creepy abandoned lab, and that monster came from it-"_

Her thoughts were cut off once more, as the bear began to push its nose further into the hole, expanding it enough to fit it's jaw in.

"I.. I can't stay here, at least!!"

She grabbed the door, swung it open, and ran out.

Almost as expected, she was met with a small, unlit hallway, cobwebs hanging from every corner of the wall. Less expected, however, was the exact shape - what lay ahead of her beyond a short hallway was a set of metal grate stairs, leading into a black, inky void. Not even another set of doors - the stairs existed only for this abandoned room.

"Just... this place..."

Was there even any point in asking just what the hell this place was?

The second she let out a sigh, she felt a sharp pain seize her right leg.

"Ah-?!"

Looking down, she noticed that the hem on her skirt has been torn, and on her right leg was a nasty, long cut. She couldn’t be sure how deep it was, but it was enough that the blood had already dripped down into her sock, leaving a dull red colour and an uncomfortably warm, damp feeling. The realization that she'd been injured began to intensify the pain, making her feel that much worse than she already was.

She bit her lip. Having nowhere else to go, the only choice was to, of course, move forward. Taking caution of the condition of each rickety step, she took herself slowly, step by step, trying her best to avoid looking forwards. She stopped for just a moment, to peer through the stairs to the floor below, pointing her light down to get a better look.

Rather than seeing a lower floor, she was instead greeted by a large, metal funnel, caked with a dry, vaguely glowy substance, akin to the bear's saliva. Perhaps by a trick of the mind, it felt as if she were suddenly hit by the smell of a rotting cake.

_"So... maybe there really IS more of them..."_

She finally made it down the steps, and was thankfully greeting by dim lighting, joining with the cobwebs at the corners of the wall. Sadly, this did nothing to lighten the atmosphere - the reddish hue from the light, and the tight, aged metal hallways that seemed to continue on forever could only instill more dread and fear in Minnie's already seized-up heart. For the second time that night, tears began to fall from her eyes, and she fell to her knees.

_"W...what do I do? I'm stuck down here... I'm bleeding badly... and there's a giant monster trying to kill me..."_

"Please... can't someone help me?"

She hadn't meant to say it out loud, but hearing the words shook her. After all, that was what she'd heard that older boy say, as he melted away. Nothing could've been done to help him... or any of her brother's friends, who had the misfortune to still be in the crater when that creature attacked. Did... did she even know their names? Even if she didn't, her brother certainly did... Claudia, and that bus driver, probably did too... even that asshole, Andy... did he even have the capacity to care that someone he was joking with died in such a horrible way? Though, Minnie wasn't sure if he was in the crater or not when the bear attacked. His little brother, too... 

Thinking on that... did the others take advantage of the bear following her to escape? They had to have... after all, it wasn't like any of them really knew her to be concerned with her well being. Zach certainly couldn't have cared. He never cared about how she felt. No one did. Not since... when...

She wiped the tears from her eyes, though more continued to fall in their place, and did her best to prop herself back up. Her body still shook, and she could feel her entire body refuse to move, but step by step, she limped forward, trailing down the hall at a snail's pace.

"I... I'm getting out of here... there's gotta be an exit in the dirty old place, right?"

"Well, maybe you could use some help then? You seem to be out of sorts~."

"YEEEEK-!"

Minnie let out a shrill scream, and fell forward. From behind her, a man wearing a gaudy suit stood, letting out a smugly proper laugh.

"Well, what a warm welcome! Perhaps that's to be expected of someone, when they're clearly breaking and entering."

Minnie turned around, face red. A few more tears welled up in her eyes.

"I...I'm not... b-breaking and... w-who are you?"

The man waved his hands dramatically, holding them out in a shrug.

"That's not exactly important right now, is it, sweetie? For now, let's go patch up that leg of yours."

"Wha-"

The man grabbed her by the arm, and suddenly, they vanished.

____________________

_"I've got to tell you, this year has been nothing but trouble for me! My students just don't respect me, and they refuse to keep their mouths shut in class."_

_"You really need to lighten up! They may be stupid brats, but at least they're trying to be independent. It'll help them when they're older"_

_"You try saying that when you have over thirty voices yammering nonstop. Last year's kids were much easier to handle..."_

_"They're alright, perhaps generally pretty quiet. Especially... have you noticed that Webber girl? I don't think she's spoken once, all year."_

_"That girl? She's definitely the quiet type, that's for certain. Always comes to class early, reading books."_

_"She's so gloomy. Doesn't she have any friends? I don't think I've ever seen her smile once-"_

___________________

All of a sudden, Minnie was out of the hallway, and in a room filled with screens, all showing different places in the wasteland. Sitting in front of it was a woman, very similar in appearance to the man, and dressed almost alike, though instead opting for a ball gown. In contrast to the gaudy but gorgeous dress, she was sitting, eyes barely inches away from the monitors, munching away at popcorn. The man, first aid kit already in hand, had grabbed her leg, taking off her messy sneaker and sock, and begun treating the cut.

"Alright... just sit still for the moment, and it'll be all better~!"

Minnie, too shocked to move, ended up following what he asked, not even flinching when he disinfected the cut, and barely taking note of how the bandages seemed to act on their own, twirling perfectly around her leg like they were being manipulated by a ribbon dancer.

"And let's not forget a get-better kiss!"

With a grand sweeping motion, he pressed two of his fingers to his lips, and a small shot of light followed his hand as he pulled away. Upon touching her leg, she could feel the pain immediately slip away. She sat there, still dumbfounded, as the man slid back on her shoe and handed her the bloody sock.

"Well, my dear? Does that feel better?"

Another pause. Finally, she spoke up.

"Who... are you? What's going on? What is that monster?! WHERE IS THIS!?! WAS THAT MAGIC?! WHAT-"

"Relax, RELAX!!" The woman, mouth full of popcorn, didn't even look away from the screens. "It's all very simple, just have some patience!"

The man sighed, standing up and puffing his jacket, before offering Minnie a hand up. Cautiously, she took it, and with one smooth pull, she was lifted back onto her feet.

"Now, to explain..." The man had begun to pace. "This is our glorious home base, the underground tunnels of the Wasteland, Kings' Locker!!"

He paused for a moment, striking a pose of presentation. Minnie, looking at where his arms pointed, took a better look at the entire room. Though definitely better kept than the hallway from before, this was another plain, metal room, with snack wrappers and wires strewn across the floor. Looking back, the man strengthened himself out, pointing his hands to his chest.

"And, my name is Louis. Louis Grady. That over there, is my dear beloved, Lisa."

Still not looking away, she raised a fist to the air.

"Right on, dearest brother."

Minnie's could feel her already pale face grow paler. These two were too, too weird, and she did not want to spend any more time with then than she needed. They did seem to know what what going on, at least... For now,while she was stuck...

"Uhh... you said this place is the underground tunnels of the wasteland?"

"Yes!" Louis raised a hand into the air. "These tunnels run through the entire perimeter of the barrier, and as a result, are mainly sectioned in the wasteland area! It is for the best, after all, since it gives us a wide range of area to watch for Sucrose Beasts."

"Sucrose Beasts?!" Minnie jumped at the reminder of the bear. "Is that what they're called?!"

"Well, not exactly." Louis pointed a finger into his cheek. "That's just what me and Sister dearest call them. It's got a nice ring to it, right?"

"O-okay?"

Minnie looked towards the screens, taking in what was going on. In one, she could see Arnold's Rock, covered in the same terrifying saliva that the bear had been covering everything else in, and many, many slimy paths crawling out it, suggesting it may have taken the party by surprise, or worse, managed to trap them in. On another monitor, she spotted the bus, driving away from the area as quick as it could, as she more than expected. Many other cameras pointed at the bear's path of destruction, including where she'd tripped, showing off the hole, covered in saliva on all sides, and no bear in sight.

"W...where did the bear go?"

"Well, the second brother teleported you out of there, the bear lost your scent." Lisa spoke between handfuls of popcorn. "A lot of animals tend to still rely on their senses after they get turned, after all. Most likely, it went after the next closest source of human scent- ah! Yes, it's already found two more!"

Lisa pointed to a monitor in the top-left corner, and Minnie's blood went cold.

"Zach?"

There, despite the poor quality and position of the camera, she could still make out the panicked faces of her brother, as well as Claudia, as the two were sprinting away, followed closely by the bear. Though no noise played, she could tell her brother, tears streaming down his face, was yelling about something... though, instead of a scared, helpless expression, he seemed more... anguished.

"Zach! ZACH!!"

"Ah, do you know that young man?" Louis appeared from behind, hanging over her shoulder.

"Yes! H-He's my brother! My brother and his girlfriend!"

"Ah, it would seem they must've gone after you." Lisa smiled, putting her butter-soaked fingers on her cheeks. "How darling! That's such a caring thing to do! What a shame that he'll die young, especially after making such a noble choice!"

"I... He wouldn't!" Minnie could feel her breathing get shallow. "He's never cared about me! He probably just wanted to look at the monster up close, or something!!"

"Dear girl, why would you think of your brother so cruelly?" Louis sighed. "I've seen plenty of people die to these beasts... that look on his face isn't the look of someone who was too full of himself... that's the face of a man in despair about losing someone he cares dearly for."

Minnie looked back at the screen, where the two were still running away from the beast. They'd reached a tall, spire-like piece of rubble that they began to climb upwards, to a height much taller than the beast, but as the beast caught up, it began to ram it's head into the spire, knocking it and the two of them around.

"No..." Minnie stared at the screen, shaking. "H...He lost some of his friends when that thing attacked... what you said doesn't mean-"

"Then why would he have chased after the beast? Are you going to suggest revenge next? Didn’t you just suggest he was driven by idiotic curiosity? Those little theories of yours are contradicting themselves." Louis's face went dark. "Are you really so dense as to assume your own brother doesn't care for you? Or do you simply not want to take any blame for his death? Well, if you need further proof... ah yes, perfect!"

He cleared his throat, and put a hand to his throat. Upon opening his mouth, another voice began to crack in, like a radio broadcast.

"-illed my sister! She... she can't be dead..."

Minnie could feel her body further tense up. Looking back and forth to the camera footage and Louis, it was clear the he was, somehow, broadcasting what they were saying.

"Zach, please, calm down! We need to think of a way out of this before it knocks us over!"

"It... Minnie, it killed her, didn't it?! I... was too late... I..."

"We can't do anything about this right now! You can grieve once we get out of here!"

"Minnie... I'm sorry..."

Louis pulled his hand away, and the broadcast ended.

"Well, I think that's pretty definitive, huh?"

Minnie could feel the entire would darken around her, as her breathing got hazy, and her tears returned with a vengeance. Her brother... he wanted to save her, after all? After all the complaining he did, from this trip, to everything at home, and...

_"Come on, now. You two are brother and sister... It always makes me sad to see you argue…"_

Minnie looked back up to the screen. The bear took another, fiercer swipe at the spire, knocking the two of them around harder... and her brother, swaying around, was slammed head-first into a rock jutting out of the side.

"AH!"

Just barely, Claudia had grabbed onto his hand, and pulled him back up, but the impact had clearly knocked him out, his left temple already beginning to pour blood. She held onto him as tight as she could, as the bear continued to swipe away.

Minnie, desperately, grabbed at Louis' suit.

"Those weird abilities of yours... can't... can't you do something about that monster?!"

"We would if we could, dear." The man sighed, sounding more annoyed than concerned. "Our abilities, however, aren't really suited for fighting. We called for someone as soon as the beast showed up... in fact, they should've gotten here by now. But they've yet to enter into my teleportation range... and I doubt they're gonna get here in time, at this rate."

"And... you can't go teleport them out of there?!"

"That's not how my ability works. I can only teleport in areas that are explicitly part of the base, and teleport things to the outside of the base, but nothing else. If they were near one of the doorways, I could get them pretty quick... but quite obviously, they're not."

Minnie looked desperately back to the screen. They hadn't been knocked down yet, but the spire was beginning to dangerously creak back and forth, ready to topple.

"There's nothing I can do then?! I have to sit here, and watch them get killed by that thing?!"

Louis and Lisa both shrugged. 

"Yes, unfortunately." Louis sighed. "That's the way things have to go. How tragic, that we haven't had an attack in months... then, the one night a bunch of idiot teens decide to go partying, one finally shows up..."

Minnie, finally through enough, clenched her fists, and slammed one onto the tv. It wasn't enough to actually break it, but it was enough to shake the pile around.

_"...you've got to look after each other, even if you get on each other's nerves... Me and your dad won't be here forever..."_

"No! I can't accept this! There gotta be... I... I DON'T WANT THEM TO DIE!!"

Everything in the room went white. Pure light shone from every monitor in the room, blinding everything, pushing everything around like a harsh wind, and forcing the two adults to cover their eyes. However, for Minnie - despite the blinding light in front of her, she could still see everything clearly. Looking to the other two in confusion, she was surprised to see that both of them were grinning ear to ear...

Before she could speak up, something compelled her to look directly towards the light, holding out her hands. From the monitor, the one she'd slammed her hand on, something was crawling out, something roughly the size of a tennis ball.

Soon, the light faded, and in its place, Minnie held a strange, round creature. Standing on eight, spidery legs, it looked up at her with tiny, but determined eyes.

"What... what is this thing?"

"Well, well. It would appear your wish has been granted, huh little lady?"

"W...what do you mean?"

"You wanted a way to save your brother, right?" Lisa stood up, smiling like her brother. "Well, you've just gotten your key to doing so. Well, so long as you didn't just get stuck with an ability like ours."

"Wait, so-"

"I don't think this is the time for chatting, dear!"

Louis pointed to the screens, now back to normal. As if time had frozen in that short moment, it had immediately returned to the image of the spire, tipping farther and farther over.

"All that matters right now, dear... are you ready to do what it takes to save lives?"


	5. Chapter 5

"Come on, this way!"

Claudia hissed through grit teeth, pulling a distraught Zach along was the bear took notice of them, letting out another ground-shaking roar. Despite the danger present, Zach was barely able to keep up, forcing Claudia to go just a little slower than she wanted. She dug her long nails into his arms as tightly as she could, but it didn't make a single difference.

"Zach, hurry the fuck up, or so help me-!"

She looked over to the right, eyeing a nearby spire-like piece of debris sticking out from the ground, and lit up.

"Zach, come on, we're going this way!"

Making a sharp turn towards the spire, they managed to throw the bear off slightly, forcing it to make a hasty stop, and giving them just enough time to reach to and climb up, getting to the highest point they could, where the bear wouldn't be able to reach.

For just a moment, Claudia felt her body relax, sighing in relief. Zach was definitely out of it, but at least, she didn't need to help him climb up the spire. His face, however, was still twisted in a tired, silent anguish.

That moment of silence didn't last for long. The bear had made its way over to them, and rather than give up on what might've seemed a fruitless effort, it instead backed up, and-

_BAM-!_

It rushed forward, ramming it's head into the spire. The whole structure shook, leaving Claudia little time to brace her and Zach from falling off, and little structure to grab onto. Zach barely even let the attack register on his face, still completely zoned out.

"....killed her..."

Claudia turned to him, grabbing him by the arm. His face began to grow agitated.

"What was that?!"

"That thing... it killed her, didn't it? It... it killed my sister! She... she can't be dead..."

Once again, it hit the spire. Claudia nearly slipped off, but managed to keep herself up by a bump in the broken stone structure. She leaned herself back as hard as she could, all while still pulling back Zach, whose hands had begun to shake.

"Zach, please, calm down! We need to think of a way out of this before it knocks us over!"

"It... Minnie, it killed her, didn't it?! I... was too late... I..."

Another hit. It was clear now, that the spire was loose on the ground, and was getting looser. Claudia tried to keep balance by gripping on a slightly loose metal plate from over their heads, keeping her there, but breaking a few of her nails heard enough to bleed.

"We can't do anything about this right now! You can grieve once we get out of here!"

_"If... if we get out of here..."_ Claudia grimaced, closing her eyes. _“Which… with you like this…_

"Minnie... I'm sorry..."

Another hit, and now the spire was beginning to shake, even without the help of the bear. This time, Zach had almost slid off, but a swift kick to the torso managed to keep him balanced.

_"Damn this... we're not getting out of this, are we... and all... and all because of that stupid sister of yours!"_

The bear, content with how much progress it’d gotten with head butting, now swiped at the spire, causing it to shift in the opposing direction, sharply slamming the two into the spire. For a moment, Claudia's vision went white, but quickly recovered after just a few seconds. Zach, however...

"Z..ZACH!"

He'd managed to slam his head into a rock jutting out from the side of the spire, and was immediately knocked clean out. Blood spilled from the wound on the side of his head, and onto her leg, as he once again, found himself nearly falling off the spire.

"No... no! I gotta think clearly..." Claudia could feel her vision spin, though it might've been from the movement of the spire. "If... if I just had a moment's distraction, maybe, then... maybe..."

She took a look at Zach, and then looked back at the bear. Slowly, she shifted her leg off his side.

_"I... I didn't think I'd need to do this...it's his fault for rushing off, anyways. I’m not about to let myself get killed for his stupid mistake. Besides, he's not going to feel it, not if he's out like this… "_

Closer and closer, she pulled her leg back, and he began to slip.

_"Please, I hope this keeps it long enough..."_

From high above either her or the bear, the barrier had suddenly flashed it's daylight sky blue, before giving away to bright, artificial white, giving the wasteland a stage-like presence. There, shooting out from a nearby trash dune and folding out in the sky high above their heads like a firework, something had appeared. It was a small, human figure shrouded in a witches' hat and a long, black cape, holding a short staff tipped with a black orb. Once the figure had fully formed, the cape fluttered out, and sent them flying in her and Zach's direction.

"It... it can't be..."

Though wearing a more extravagant outfit, one she could never imagine her wearing, and what appeared to be heavy mascara on her closed, peaceful eyes, the figure's wide face and gangly limbs were more than recognizable.

"Minnie!?"

The figure in the air suddenly opened her eyes, and began freaking out.

______________

 

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!"

Minnie was still not used to the teleportation, and felt her mind cloud up with disorientation and panic as she began to fall from the sky.

"Ohgodohgodohgod I'm falling why am I falling I can't flyyyyy??! HELP?!!!"

_"Young spider!" She could hear a voice in her head."The plan! Remember the plan!"_

"What plan?! I shot some web and you threw me out here after telling me to get them to the door!" 

_"Have you never even heard of Spiderman?! I don't think I need to spell this out for you!"_

"........... okay, I... I think I've got the idea!"

Doing the best she could to aim her wand at the two on the spire, the orb at the top began to glow violet, as eight long tendrils of light spun out. In a flash, the wand spit out a long strand of webbing, grabbing the two from where they sat, while still remaining attached to the wand. Claudia's face twisted in shock.

"What the-?!"

_"Okay! Now focus on flinging them towards that hill of dust, the one with the wheel next to it... that's where the door is!"_

"A...alright!"

_"Also, you don't need to say things out loud. I can read your mind and-"_

"P-please be quiet for a moment!"

Despite the awkward angle from midair, she managed to twist her body around, pulling Claudia and Zach from where they were tied up, and flung them, high up into the air. Her wand, letting out another sharp blast of light before the tendrils folded in, let go of the two in their webbing, Claudia letting out a scream as they quickly began to soar downwards.

Just before the two hit the ground, a hidden panel opened up from the dusty hill below. From it, popped out the woman, as if she were bouncing on a trampoline, who gracefully caught the two in the air before falling back down, giving Minnie a thumbs up before vanishing. Minnie, fast approaching the ground, could feel panic well up again - but realized, just as she had done before, then...

Pointing downwards, Minnie shot another line of web, this time at the ground. There wasn't much of anything directly under where she was landing, so there wasn't any chance of making some kind of trampoline, as the web simply landed and curled to the ground. Heart now beating hard enough to shake her entire body, she shot the ground, again and again with web, each shot balling up as she shook, making a pile of misshapen, nest-like webbing. Finally meeting the ground, she closed her eyes, waiting for the risk of impact-

Poof.

She fell into the web pile, submerging completely. For a moment, she remained still. Then, in a burst of web strands, a hand, still clutching her staff, broke free.

"All right!" Minnie popped out from the pile of web, and for the first time that evening, found herself grinning from ear to ear. "I... I did it!"

_"Alright, step one complete. It went perfectly! We got your loved ones back here now, and once we patch up your brother's head, everything should be good."_

"Y... you think so?" She still spoke aloud. "I... that's a relief. That idiot's okay..."

_" Now, fight off the bear!"_

"...huh?"

The bear, first confused by her sudden appearance, now roared in rage, and was now barreling towards her once more. Minnie's face went pale with fear.

"W-w-wait, what?! You want me to fight that thing?! I can't do that!!" Minnie trembled, and found herself unable to speak anymore. Thinking, on the other hand....

_"How am I supposed to defeat an enemy that'll turn me into a pile of goop with one shake of it's head?!"_

_"Relax, it's a lot easier than you think! Well, at least from what the others have told me! You don't have to worry about melting, at least, these forms are functionally immune to the sugar energy, as I like to call it."_

_"Uh... that's good?"_ It still didn't quell the shaking, though it did make her feel slightly better.

_"Oh, but I mean, it can still tear you to shreds with those teeth and claws."_ The voice laughed. _"So like, you know... don't get too relaxed."_

The bear, now standing above her, let out another roar. It sounded a little different than the roar before, perhaps a little more high-pitched, but it still terrified Minnie all the same.

"Stay back!!"

She held the wand out in front of her, attempting to stand confident, but shaking so badly that the wand spun around in her hands. 

"You... you're not going to eat me, n...not on my watch!"

The wand reactivated once more, and shot out it's webbing, hitting the bear in the face and covering it over completely. Now blinded, and left unable to breathe, it backed away, trying desperately to shake off it's sticky mask.

"Oh, oh god..." She looked around. "Now what do I do?!"

_"Literally ANYTHING?! With webs alone, there's like, probably a million ways to do it!"_

"Ahhh... I still don't think I can do this!!"

The bear, meanwhile, was beginning to shake more desperately. The webbing near its mouth began to expand out, filling up...

_"Don't be stupid, just take a moment to think about it! Don't you think there's SOMETHING that you can do?!"_

"I've never killed anything before! Aren't those backups you mentioned going to show up?!"

_"Still nothing! For the love of god, are you just going to keep making excuses?! I know, how about kill the damn thing, or I don't heal your brother!? I'll let him bleed his stupid little head out and toss his lifeless body into the pipes! Will that fucking convince you?!"_

"S-SHUT UP!! DON'T YOU DARE!!"

_"Let me put it to you this way. Powers like yours aren't common. We need all the help we can get. The sooner you toughen up and kill that fucking bear, the better off you'll damn well be in the long run!"_

"I... do you mean that-?!"

She wasn't able to hear what answer he might've given, as the web muzzle finally snapped open, a fountain of the glowy saliva bursting out as the the bear took a deep breath.

"AH-! Sir, now what do I do!?"

Nothing. Evidently, he'd given up on talking to her.

She took a deep breath, trying to refocus herself, as the panic began to rush back tenfold. If she really was all alone in this... what could she do? Trip the bear? tie it down? How long would it take to starve it, anyways?

Once again, she took a look at what was around, before hearing the creaking from nearby. All at once, a plan began to form in her head.

"I... I don't want to do this... but..."

She held the wand out again, blasting out another spell of web.

____________________________________

The bear, pawing away the web that was over its eyes, took a look at the surroundings. The girl was nowhere to be seen, and it wasn't able to sniff her out, either. Had she managed to escape? Even if she'd gone to the door that she'd sent the other humans, it would still be able to pick up the smell of her from that general direction...

The bear put its nose to the ground, trying to pick up even the tiniest scent. It took just a moment, but- ah! A faint smell! It began to follow its nose, the smell getting ever so stronger...

Sitting on the ground, where the girl had been standing when she'd shot him the second time, was a wrinkled knee-length sock, covered in blood. It moved in as close as it could, getting a better smell, before picking the sock up with its teeth, letting it hang out like a little metal as it began to absorb the saliva. Now with a stronger trace of the smell, it would have an even better chance of finding the girl...

Suddenly, it found itself unable to move.

It had been distracted by trying to sniff out the air with the invigorated scent, and hadn't quite seen it due to the webbing still stuck on it's face, but it had walked right one huge, intricate spider web. Unable to move its feet, it began shaking in place, roaring angrily to try and shake itself loose. Rather than that, however, it ended up knocking itself over, and fell to its side, getting further caught in the webbing.

"HEY, DUMB BEAR!!"

It looked over behind itself to the spire, to see that the girl was standing just over it, covered head to toe in it's saliva, unmelted. Impossible... it had thought to mask her smell with its own? How did it paint such a convincing trail?

It didn't get much time to contemplate what little it could manage, as the girl cast another spell. This time, she used her webbing spell to grab the loosened spire - and pull it from the ground, slowly pulling against its extreme weight. Though shaking, a look of conviction filled her eyes.

"I... UH... I WISH I WAS LESS SORRY ABOUT THIS!!"

She spun the wand down like a hammer, and the spire, tip pointed and sharp, flew into it, spearing it through the side, and all the way through to the ground below.

The bear let out its loudest roar yet, a roar loud enough to blur one's vision from even a distance away. Minnie fell down, looking away from the carnage she just caused, the ground shaking harder and harder with every attempt it made to dislodge itself from the ground, desperately trying to grasp onto what little life it had left...

Not.

It dug itself out from the ground, angrier and more erratic than before. Though the spire remained lodged right through, it did nothing to slow down this hulking brute.

"N...no way?! What am I going to do now?! ... wait, what... what's this?"

The wand, despite not being activated, began to pulse a white light, jittering a bit in her hands. Was it just her imagination, or was the wand trying to move closer to that creature?

_"No way..."_ She heard the voice return.

"M-Mr. Grady?!"

_"Call me Louis, little spider. I know what's going on with this- Point the wand to the bear, and focus on that feeling of pulling inwards."_

"W-wait, hold on...feeling?!"

Though confused, she stood up and pointed to the Bear. The tendrils returned once more, but spread out farther and farther, getting longer and longer, and reaching out to the bear's wound. Sticking itself inside, she could feel the tendrils sucking away energy, and bringing it towards her.

"Oh-! Is… is this what you mean?!"

_“Yes… just be careful and don’t take t-o m-ch, or-”_

His voice was overpowered by her sheer focus, concentrating as hard as she could on that 'feeling', a feeling of powerful energy coursing through her. The bear, in contrast, began to slow, grow weaker, and... shrink? It was shrinking down, much closer to the average size of a bear. The saliva it had emitted, from both it, to what she was covered in, began to fade away.

Finally, the tendrils retreated back into the wand, and the orb turned back to it's black shade once more. Sitting there now, it's upper half crushed under the weight of a larger shrapnel that had once pierced it, was a normal brown bear, dead as dead could be.

_"Well I'll be. You did it, little spider. I was concerned about what might happen if you took on that much energy, but..."_

Minnie fell to her knees, breathing heavy, uneven breaths. She wasn't sure if it had to do with how tired she felt, but white spots of light began to fill her vision.

"M-my name... my name is...."

Her vision went fully white, and she passed out where she stood.


	6. Chapter 6

Spinning and spinning, again and again. The second her body had dropped to the ground, it was as if she had fallen on a tilt-a whirl, colours and light swirling in her vision. If such a ride were real, she'd be trying to get off immediately and go home before anyone could see her vomit - but here, her body couldn't move. On some level, she understood at this was no more than a delusion of her own unconscious mind, but it did not stop her from struggling, fighting to stand up and find some level, unmoving ground. Any time she made any progress, it was as if something pushed her back down, a force that made her feel more and more nauseous.

Then, for just a moment, it felt as if she were rising up, like the same force had picked her up instead. In the back of her mind, she could hear a high-pitched wail echoing through her head, and her panic began to grow, larger and larger, as the colours began to spin faster and faster…

The first thing she remembered upon waking up was her dad, gazing down upon her with an expression she couldn't quite make out. Her vision was still blurry and fuzzy, but his dark skin and balding head, and that specific red hue of his work shirt - it was absolutely him. Besides him, there was only one other thing she could pick up on in her hazy state - the place she was laying certainly wasn't her bed. Compared to the old, overly-soft monster of a bed with the quilted comforter she had at home, this one was small, flat, and cold, with only thin white sheets and a grey blanket covering her over.

She was able to keep her eyes open for perhaps a few minutes, listening to what sounded like rapid mumbling from her father, and someone she couldn't quite place, before she sunk back into sleep.

The next time she woke up, she was alone. Though she could still feel the spinning colours in her first dream after falling back asleep, they were not nearly as intense as they had been. Perhaps that was why she was able to see clearer this time.

She was in a room, something akin to a large hospital room, but something was very off, compared to the times she'd been to the hospital before. She was clearly the only patient in the room, for one thing, her bed and medical equipment being the only items in total, leaving the rest of the room a rather empty, soulless void. The walls, rather than being a comforting cream, or a nice calming blue, were a cold, steel grey... and perhaps actual steel, at least lining parts of the wall. There was no window to the outside, either, only the white, fluorescent light above her head that only gave her a headache if she even took a second to look at it, and a large, tinted window, one she couldn't see through, but could assume it looked into another room or a hallway, being next to one of two doors. One, located next to her, was clearly a washroom, and the other, next to the window...

As if on queue, a nurse walked through said door, rather obviously feigning surprise at her awakening.

"Ah! You've finally woken up. Is there anything you need?"

Minnie opened her mouth, only to realize she didn't even have the energy to speak.

"It's alright, dearie. I'll get you a juice box, for the time being. Just sit tight, and once you feel better, we'll get you up to speed~!~"

The nurse jovially left the room, and Minnie, hoping for her speedy return, took another look around - specifically, at the medical equipment gathered up around her. It all looked like some pretty high-tech, fancy equipment; it shone brightly with a modern flair, with screens lit up showing off advanced numbers and graphs that she couldn't entirely make sense of. The only thing she could understand was that she was connected to every single one, from the breathing apparatus connected to her nose, to something she could feel, hooked onto one of her toes. When she got the chance, she definitely wanted to look up the names for the equipment for herself. Other than that, there was nothing else of interest to look at, besides a small tv she'd initially assumed was another random device, one that was currently turned off. Instead, she did her best to distract herself by watching the screens of her equipment, as new information slowly blinked onto them.

The nurse came back a few minutes later, a small box of apple juice in hand, and gently held it out in offer. When Minnie didn't take it, the nurse sat it down on a small table to her left, keeping it in close reach.

"Wh..." Minnie forcefully spoke up, feeling as if she were trying to force a ball of wet cotton out of her throat. "Wha... what happen..."

"It's going to be alright." The nurse gently held Minnie's arm to comfort her. "You've just been asleep for a little while, that's all. Once you're feeling better enough to move again, you should be able to go home."

"I...." Minnie wanted to ask more, but it had already become too tiresome to say anything else. Besides, chances were if she tried to ask, she'd probably be ignored... the sooner she proved better, the sooner she'd be able to find stuff out… and even better, get the hell out of this uncomfortable room.

She tried to prop herself up, but the nurse put a stop to her, lightly pushing against her shoulders. She froze for a moment, remember the similar feeling in her dream.

"Oh! No, don't try to force yourself to move... After all, you're still hooked up to the IV and the catheter! I promise you... you don't want accidentally rip those out. Here, let me help you sit up. How about some tv?"

She turned on the small tv. On it, was an old animal cartoon, something for little kids. The main character, a cute little bear, was marching joyfully in the rain.

"Ah, you probably don't wanna watch a show for young children, huh?" For the first time, the woman looked a tad disquieted. "Just a moment... nod when you see something you wanna watch."

She flicked through the different channels to find something else to her liking, looking back each time to check for Minnie's reaction. Finally, upon landing on an old halloween movie, Minnie, tired of the constant channel surfing, nodded weakly.

"Ah, alright. Well, if you need help with anything else, just buzz me with the button, here."  
She held up another small remote, attached to the bedside opposite of the table, before stepping out. Minnie, now left completely alone for what could end up being a very long time, grabbed the juice box from the table, and took a sip.

_"I don't really like Apple Juice..."_

_________

For the next few days, Minnie slipped between deep sleep and checkups, interspersed with some light moments of tv watching and later, a bit of reading once she was able to tell the nurse that she'd rather spend some time with a book. The only people she saw during that time was the blandly cheery nurse, as well as a second, male nurse, who usually took the morning shift, and various doctors of whom she was never certain if she'd met previously, even in the span of five minutes. By the third day, she was able to move short distances with some help, at the very least getting to and from the bathroom, or around the room, which she was not allowed to leave, leaving only the IV and some basic health-tracking wires plugged in. She never bothered to ask the names, in the end - once she learned what exactly a catheter was, she rather lost her appetite on learning the rest of the terminology. 

Then, on the sixth day of care - Louis had shown up.

He strut into the room in a golden suit and cloak, still with the same air of confidence and whimsy she'd seen when the two had first met, sitting in a wooden chair leaning back casually, but this time, as he spoke, it was a bit kinder, and perhaps a bit more serious than she'd think he was capable of, from that first impression.

"Well, little spider." He seemed to be too pleased with the nickname. "I suppose I'll be the one to get you caught up on things, huh? I guess they don't really care how tactfully they break this to you… but I get I’ll try."

"Mr. Grady..." She still definitely sounded weak, but it was much easier to talk now. "Where... where am I?"

"You're in a very special hospital, little spider." Louis smiled. "This is a pretty high-end place... a lot of the most important people come here to be treated. Shame about the crappy decor, but this wing was built more for function than fashion, so I guess there's not much to be done about that... but yeah. Taking in all that Sucrose energy at once took quite a toll on you... you were out of it for over a week... maybe closer to two."

Minnie was only half surprised at his sudden drop of timespan. That amount of time was certainly a lot, to be sure... but at this point, she was getting paranoid that she could have possibly been out of it for years. She'd taken one look at her face in the mirror the first time she'd gotten to the bathroom - messy, oily hair, dark circles under her eyes, and a pale complexion that almost made her look blue, and she swore she never wanted to look in a mirror again. If she did, what other horrors might she realize about herself?

“I see… and… what happened to-?”

“Your brother and his girlfriend are fine. I got him patched up, and sent them over to the closest hospital for checkup. Your brother had a minor concussion, and the girl had a twisted leg and some badly bruised up fingers. The both of them went home a week ago.”

“Ah…” Minnie let out a sigh of relief. “Um, also…”

If you're wondering about those other hooligans, we caught up with them when they reached the border of the wasteland. They spent a day in the police station, mostly just getting looked over for any injuries, and got shipped home. Though, that Chinese guy, the one that drove you guys… Pang Jiang-shi, or something? I know the last name is correct... anyway, they were gonna take away his license, maybe give him some jail time…apparently it’s not his first run in with the law! But I worked a bit of my own magic, and all he's saddled with right now is a month-long suspension. After all, even if he brought you all out there, he did manage to save most of you, unlike those other kids.”

So that was Pyro's real name, then? Or at least… maybe.

“Ah… but-”

“Those other kids, though… besides the one on the bus with your group, we found a few stragglers, after a few days of investigation. Scared right out their minds, and crazy malnourished! The last kid they found is still in the hospital too…”

“That’s not what I was going to ask!!”

It was the first loud sentence she’d uttered since waking up, and even just that nearly caused her to keel over in pain. Though Louis appeared amused, his cold went serious and grim.

“Well then… what were you going to ask, then?”

She paused for a moment, regaining her bearings.

“It’s…. about what you said… about getting used to stuff… I wanna know what you meant by that.”

Louis let out a sigh, leaning up forwards with his elbows resting on his knees, and chin rested on his hands. She couldn’t tell from his sunglasses being partially in the way, but it appeared his eyebrows had furrowed.

“Well. I’m afraid I’m not allowed to get into that just yet. I figure you might have some idea of what that means, but the doctors keep telling me to wait until you’re better before we talk about that stuff. Well, I’d try to tell you anyways, but they like to keep a close eye on the likes of you and me.”

He leaned back and gave a thumbs up, very clearly looking at the tinted window behind him. Minnie let out a sigh.

“I... figured that’s what it was…”

“Well besides that, little spider, I do have good news on that front!” Louis turned back and grinned. “The doctors have finished checking you over, so you’ll be going home the day after tomorrow! Of course, you’ll probably need another week or so resting at home before you can go anywhere… but hey, nothing better than skipping school, right?”

Louis seemed to be expecting her to joke back. Instead, she stared at him with tired eyes.

“Hmmph, alright then.” He got up from the chair. “Well, your dad will be picking you up that morning, so be ready for them to drag you out of here pretty early. As for me… well, I’ll see you later. Can't be away from dear sister too long, after all~!”

And he walked right out out of the room, not a word more, or a wave goodbye. The nurse rushed back in with another apple juice, setting it on the table with a smile before taking the chair away.

“Less than two days left in this god awful place. Just a little wait longer…”

 

__________________________________________________

Just as Louis had told her, she had been woken up pretty early, as the male nurse and two strangers in black suits had arrived, wheelchair and one of her own nightgowns in tow from the inky darkness of the hallway.

“Well, you’re going home today, sweetie.” The nurse began to carefully unhook her from the machines, getting the IV last and putting a bandage over where it had been hooked in. He grabbed the nightgown from the chair, and slipped it over her, before untying the hospital gown from underneath to take back. “These fine gentlemen are going to take you up to the lobby. Your Daddy just can’t wait to see you! You got your books together, right?”

Minnie wasn’t sure how to take in this dissonance, and said nothing. The nurse ignored this, and instead picked her up, sitting her in the wheelchair, and buckling her in tight. One of the men in black suits picked up the small bag of books on the floor, the only other thing clearly out of place in this room.

For the first time since she got here, she finally got to leave the room. Unfortunately, the entire floor was dimly lit, much like a hospital would be if she truly was in a horror movie. To her left, where the tinted window lay, she could see back into her room with great clarity - and in front, a large desk, covered in paperwork and surrounded by rows of chairs.

“......”

“You don’t need to be curious.” One man spoke up, and she turned her attention back to them. The nurse had already left.

“I...I’m-”

The man turned the wheelchair harshly, and wheeled her down the dark hall. The sound of footsteps behind her… the creaky wheelchair… all of this didn’t help the atmosphere one bit. She’d almost rather be back in the creepy bunker.

They came to an elevator, the only lit up area on the floor, in a bright aqua blue. Wasn't blue supposed to be a calming colour? This only made things way more eerie! Forget the bunker, she'd rather be back in the wasteland! At least she'd have the chance to escape then!

But… escape from what? They were just taking her back to her dad… right? But everything since she woke up was rather confusing and ominous, from this jail-like hospital, the window, the fact that she'd gotten minimal information since getting here… only Louis told her about what was going on. Even then, could she really trust him, either? After all, she'd only spent about fifteen minutes total around him, and every single second of that experience was drenched in absurdity, dread, and a callous disregard for humanity at large. For all she knew, he was just saying all that stuff to placate her, and they were going to drag her off to a lab, or some kind of military camp, where she might have to fight off more of those bears…

The ride up the elevator was slow, tense, and quiet. Only the sound of the elevator moving up- it was, in fact, moving up- was audible, the two men standing unnaturally still both behind her and to her left each. There was no light to show which floor they were on, and the only button she could see was the button the man holding the books had pressed, lighting it up; L, hopefully meaning the Lobby floor.

The elevator opened, leading to another dark hallway.

This hall was at least a little less creepy, with a modern, sleek look to the proceedings. The floor was dark and cold, with little white and gold flakes shining from the light of the elevator, and the light of the moon above them, through a modern glass ceiling. The walls were also darker, perhaps a grey or a muted brown, and fancy decorations such as paintings and fake bouquets hung on the walls. Just as quickly, they wheeled her from this hallway, to around the corner, where a bright light shone from the window on the door.

Entering this room, Minnie could feel her stress slip away. This room, a waiting room, carried the same stylish themes of the prior hallway, with beautiful paintings, a nice floor, and soft-looking chairs lined up along the walls, but more than anywhere else she'd seen here looked more like a normal hospital than this room. The greatest thing, however, was who was in the room - her dad, sitting on one of the chairs and reading something off his phone, looked up to see her.

“Dad-!”

He said nothing, instead getting up and approaching the to men, face hard as steel. The man with the books approached him in turn.

“Mr. Webber. Allow us to accompany you to your vehicle and get your daughter settled.”

“You'll do no such thing.”

He grabbed the bags of books from the man's arms, with very little resistance. The man holding her wheelchair, however, tightened his grip.

“Sir… this is a formal request from Senator Gale. It's imperative that you let us-”

“Tell Gale that she should mind her own business and not use my daughter to nose in on my mine! We're doing just fine, thank you very much, so I’ll take my daughter and go home, without the help of a bunch of lap dogs!”

The room went deathly silent, and Minnie could feel the stress return by tenfold.

“...Very well. We'll inform Senator Gale about your decision… thank you, we have more than enough to tell her, now…”

He let go of the wheelchair, and her father took it firmly, rushing them both away from the men as fast as he could without breaking into a sprint, head held high.

“Dad, I-”

“Don't say anything else. Let's get to the car.”

His face was still steel cold. Perhaps… no, without a doubt, he must've been furious. She'd snuck off with her brother to the wasteland, then nearly got herself killed, and had to be dragged out in the early hours of the morning just to be picked up… he was always the serious parent, always the one to punish her and her brother for misbehaviour. She'd be lucky if she were only grounded for a year.

The car wasn't too far away from the front entrance, sitting in one of the closest spots in a very empty parking lot. It was hard to tell even with the projected clear sky, but she could make out a large, fancy wall surrounding the edge of the entire property, or at least the parking lot. Made sense for a place this supposedly fancy.

Her father opened the door to the passengers side of the car, and unbuckled her from the chair.

“... are you able to move, or-?”

“Ah… yeah.” Minnie sluggishly climbed out of the chair. She was a bit shaky, but stood just fine. “I'm not sure why they put me in this chair, anyways.”

“...Good.”

He still looked cold and serious. Minnie, avoiding eye contact, sat herself in the car, and he shut the door for her as she buckled in. After moving the chair to the sidewalk, he went around and got in the driver's side, throwing the books into the back seat. As quick as he'd grabbed her from the two men, he drove out of the parking lot, with only a quick stop to pay for parking.

The first few minutes of the drive were quiet, with no radio, no talking, or anything else. The two sat in silence as the world around them passed by. Minnie, still weak and tired, found herself lulled away by the idea of taking a nap. Who knew how long this car trip would be anyhow, and the better to avoid the inevitable...

Then, the car slowed to a stop. Her father had pulled over to the side of the road.

He turned her way, looking her dead in the eyes. Panic swelled right down to her legs.

“D-Dad… I, I know I did something wrong, but-”

He reached out, and embraced her in a tight hug.

“Oh my god.. oh my god, you're okay. I'm so… If anything had happened, I…”

He hugged her, tighter and tighter, to the point she could barely breathe. Of course, she didn't stop him. Or rather, she couldn't. She sat there, eyes wide open, as her eyes began to water. No immediate sobbing, or wailing, just… tears. She sat her face into his shoulder as she began to shiver into her tearful relief.

“Yeah… I'm okay…”

___________________________

It was another hour of driving before they could make it back to the house. After their tearful reunion, Minnie had been quick to fall asleep, the most pleasant sleep she'd had for what felt like ages. She was woken up by her father lightly shaking her arm.

“Minnie…” He whispered, as if checking to see how awake she really was. “We're home. Do you want some help getting back in?”

“I… I think I'm okay.”

The car had been parked close to the door, turned so the passenger's seat was as close to the door as could be without damaging it or any nearby stone lining their driveway. Compared to the large, imposing nature of their old house, itself painted dark enough to blend into the night, the porch light and the light for the entranceway had been left on, waiting for their eventual return. Finally, a door that Minnie was more than happy to enter.

She made her way to the door slowly, her father reaching it along with her books before she even took a step up to the porch. Taking her hand as she walked up the steps, he opened the door and helped her step inside.

The comfort and ease from finally being home hit Minnie like a warm bath, and she almost wanted to lay right on the floor, to fall asleep right then and there. Her dad, sensing her tiredness, grabbed her by the arm to keep her up.

“Careful there… it's just another flight of stairs to your room. Though, maybe, would you like to sleep on the couch downstairs tonight?”

“No, I'll make it. Besides, I really missed my bed...”

From the stairs, coming from the basement, Minnie and her father could hear the sounds of frantic footsteps, running up the stairs. Like a lightning bolt, Zach had zipped towards the two, grabbing Minnie and giving her the second hug that night, this one even more suffocating than the last. 

“Zach, please-!”

He seemed ready to scold Zach for his borderline tackle hug, but stopped himself further when he'd burst into something between a laugh and a sob, eyes welling up with tears.

“God, you're such a fucking idiot! What were you thinking, running away from the bus!? Dumbass!”

For a split second, Minnie looked annoyed, a pout starting to form on her face. Then, she took a closer look at him. He looked a bit haggard, paler and skinnier than he had been before. His head was still wrapped in a bandage, and most of his hair was cut off, leaving only a buzz cut of his natural colour left. Her face lightened, as she hugged him back.

“You're the idiot. Why did you chase after me…ha ha...”

It seemed that the relief had finally taken its toll, as she felt her consciousness fade away, the last thing she could remember being picked up and carried away...


End file.
